Friday, April 2, 2010

Scripture: Judges 13:18 - He (the angel of the Lord ) said, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding."

Observation: I've always been guilty of thinking, in the back of my mind, that God is pretty much like other people I know, except that He's invisible and taller. I tend to subconsciously assume that, since we are made in His image, it logically follows that He has some of the same character flaws as anyone else: indifference, unreliability, pettiness, irritability, etc. I find that these assumptions on my part sometimes make me want to avoid God, or at least not bother Him unnecessarily. It is very easy to forget that God is something else entirely. I think this passage gives a hint of that. Here we see an angel, a being much inferior to God, telling Manoah that something as basic as his name is beyond his comprehension. What does that say about the angel's nature, and in turn, the nature of the being who created the angel? I've always been reluctant to trouble God with the small stuff, but I guess that from God's point of view, it's all small stuff.

Application: As a believer, I need to give God more credit and give God more opportunities for Him to show me what He is really like. Getting to know God by reading His word is all well and good, but I think He would like more personal interaction with me. The only way to do that is to act on the assumption that God is not like everyone else, and try to be more open to Him.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for my lack of faith in You and Your character. I ask that You help me renew my mind and help me come to know You as you really are. Give me the courage to approach You boldly for any reason, and help me trust You fully in any area of my life.

1 comment:

Thanks, Jeff, for your post! It helps me to share all of my day with God, the big and small stuff alike. Althought I don't comprehend fully God's character, I know enough to approach Him as a child who can trust his father to be there for him, no matter what. I am reminded today of our friend in Papua New Guinea, who rushed to the rescue of his child in a burning house, and got badly burnt in the process. That is a small image what God did for us on Good Friday.Tuula

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